Vintage Texas Wine Blog

It’s Time to Put Their Money Where Your Mouth Is – 2012 AF&WA Grant Applications

Sep 152012

It’s Time to Put Their Money Where Your Mouth Is – 2012 Austin Food & Wine Alliance Grant Applications

The Austin Food & Wine Alliance will award three (3) grants (1 at $10,000 and 2 at $5,000) to selected organizations and/or individuals for the purpose of culinary innovation that contributes to the Austin and/or Central Texas community.

Grant Eligibility

Grant recipients must meet the following criteria:

Food and beverage artisans, producers, culinary professionals or represent a culinary/food-focused non profit serving the Austin and/or Central Texas community
Must be located in Central Texas (within in the following counties) – Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hays, Kerr, Kendall, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Mason, Travis and Williamson
Must demonstrate how the grant will be used for culinary innovation in their respective fields (including wine, beer, spirits and food industry)
Represent fiduciary responsibility and transparency
Must follow the reporting and accountability guidelines
Attend Grant Awards ceremony on December 12, 2012
Agree to participate in PR initiatives to promote AFWA & Grant Program
Agree to AFWA website presence and mutual promotion of AFWA & grant program
Must provide three (3) written reference letters as to why organization or individual should receive an AFWA grant and detail the reference’s relationships with the organization and/or individual

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All applications must be received or postmarked by midnight, October 19, 2012.

Recipients and non-recipients will be notified no later than November 30, 2012.

Grants will be awarded at a ceremony on December 12, 2012 at AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center.

For questions, contact Mariam@AustinFoodWineAlliance.org

Click here to download the AFWA grant announcement press release.

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Mission of the AFWA….The Austin Food & Wine Alliance is non-profit organization* dedicated to fostering awareness and innovation in the Central Texas culinary community through grants, educational programming and events. Guided by an all-volunteer board of directors and committees made up of culinary-and-community-minded professionals, the Alliance’s commitment is to promote Texas food, wine, spirits and craft brews and to increase appreciation of Texas’ culinary impact.

Wine Spectator: CapRock’s 2010 Bingham Family Vineyards Roussanne – A Very Good Value

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Sep 132012

Wine Spectator: CapRock’s 2010 Bingham Family Vineyards Roussanne – A Very Good Value

From the October 15, 2012 issue of Wine Spectator: Great American wines – 200 delicious reds and whites for $20 or less (by Kim Marcus)

“There’s no doubt about it: Americans love American wine. Whether it’s due to patriotic impulse or to familiarity with the brands and varietals on offer, Americans overwhelmingly prefer their native bottlings. Nearly three- quarters of the wine consumed in the United States is grown and made on domestic soil.

With this love affair in mind, our latest review of the best wines for the buck focuses on what comes from within U.S. borders. The criteria are straightforward: $20 or less a bottle for American-made wines scoring 85 points or higher (or very good) on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale.”

From the top 110 American White Wines (Other U.S. Category)

85 CapRock 2010 Roussanne Texas High Plains (Bingham Family Vineyards) $18

“… has good creamed peach and melon flavors, with a judicious butter note running through the finish. Drink now. 597 cases made.” –JM

Phillip Anderson, General Manager of CapRock Winery said, “A key point to make is that this isn’t just that CapRock has one of the “Great American Values” in white wine. It means that CapRock is on Wine Spectator’s radar as a quality wine producer in a way that no other Texas winery is right now.”

Catherine Bodenstedt, Owner of CapRock Winery said, “Having a mention in such a well respected and prestigious industry publication is huge. We’re so excited about it and proud to support Texas grape growers such as Bingham Family Vineyards.”

To date, The Roussanne 2010 vintage has won the following awards:

Awards:

2012 Dallas Morning News & TexSom Wine Competition, Gold Medal

2012 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo International Wine Competition, Silver Medal

Medal of Excellence (Gold Medal) 2011 Jefferson Cup Wine Invitational Competition

2012 Lone Star International Wine Competition, Silver Medal

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Click here for Lubbockonline.com - Texas Wineslinger: Sam Clark brings his Texas wine knowledge to new Spec’s

& Texas Wine of the Week – Llano Estacado 2010 Cellar Reserve Tempranillo (Newsom Vineyard)

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Other wines in the Wine Spectator’s Value White Wines (Other U.S.) listing were:

90 Fox Run Riesling Finger Lakes Dry 2010 $16

88 Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling Finger Lakes Dry 2010 $18

87 Hazlitt 1852 Riesling Finger Lakes Homestead Reserve 2010 $18

87 Sherwood House Chardonnay North Fork of Long Island $18

Oregon Road 2011

86 Keuka Spring Vineyards Riesling Finger Lakes Semi Sweet 2010 $14

86 Lucas Riesling Finger Lakes Semi-Dry 2010 $14

86 Montelle Vignoles Missouri Dry 2010 $18

85 Cap*Rock Roussanne Texas High Plains $18

85 Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling Finger Lakes Semi-Dry 2010 $15

Texas Wine: Is There Really Anything Behind The HoustonPress “Cellar Door” Article

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Sep 052012

from: http://dobianchi.com/2012/06/14/texas-wine-industry-exposed-our-cover-story-for-the-houston-press/

Texas Wine: Is There Really Anything Behind The HoustonPress “Cellar Door” Article

Guest Blog: by David Furer

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VintageTexas (Russ Kane):

Back in May of this year, I (Russ Kane – VintageTexas) was asked by Austin-based wine writer, wine merchant and musician, Jeremy Parzen if I would have a conversation with Katharine Shilcutt who was getting ready to write an article on Texas wines for The HoustonPress. Parzen’s idea was for me to share with Shilcutt my perspectives on the Texas wine gained from over 15 years of experience covering Texas wine industry activities. So, in preparation for the meeting, which was to take place in my home, I assembled a selection of twelve Texas wines for tasting.

The approach that I used in the tasting was to hit head-on several of the common misconceptions about Texas wines; namely, that Texas appellated wines (wines made with enough Texas grapes to bear the name “Texas” on the label) are: (a) overly expensive and (b) hard to find in the marketplace. Of the 12 wines, only one was over $20 (a Port-style wine). Most were in the price range of $11 to $15 a bottle, which in my opinion is very competitive to wines of similar quality from other regions. All were readily available from sources in downtown Houston: Spec’s, Central Market, Whole Foods, Kroger and the Houston Wine Merchant. Most importantly, all of the Texas wines included in my tasting were made to federally-mandated labeling laws as Texas Appellation wines. That is, they all contained at least 75% Texas grapes.

(Disclosure: After finding out that I had spent my own money to purchase the wines, Parzen offered to pay half of the cost for the wines, and I accepted his contribution to share the wine expense.)

On the date of the meeting, we tasted through the flight of Texas wines. As we tasted, I provided my experiences and opinions to provide context on the wines that we tasted while also providing some basic knowledge on the challenges in Texas as a new, modern wine producing region.

On June 14, 2012, the article by Shilcutt and Parzen was printed in The Houston Press. It was titled “Texas Wines: Behind the Cellar Door…Not all the Texas wine you buy is made from grapes grown in our state. In fact, most of it isn’t.”

After this article was printed, email exchanges ensued among several Texas wine writers, bloggers and Texas winery personnel, present party included. The general contents of these exchanges was that Shilcutt’s article blatantly misrepresented the situation in the Texas wine industry and marketplace especially by focusing so heavily on “natural wines”, which in the context of Texas wines, are only a fractional percentage of the total wine made in Texas – hardly relevant. Also, it was generally felt that the readership for this article would be low and that it had little effect, if any, on Texas wine consumers and sales of Texas wines. Rightly or wrongly, the consensus by those involved in the email exchange was to just let this article pass without bringing further attention to a flawed bit of journalism and its misconceptions on Texas wine.

Well readers, fast forward a few months and I was contacted by noted Austin-based wine writer David Furer who is highly accomplished with over 20 years working with wine throughout the world. His resume is lengthy and involves working on the directorates of two wine writers organizations – The Circle of Wine Writers (CWW) and the Federation Internationale des Journalistes et Ecrivains des Vins et Spiritueux (FIJEV).

David reopened the discussion of Shilcutt’s article by launching his own emails to the article’s authors and members of the Texas wine writing community. Furer called the authors of the HoustonPress article to task for both their lack of knowledge of federal regulations for appellation of origin, legal chemical adjustments and labeling of wine, and their sloppy journalistic manner and approach used in this article. Furthermore, Furer also called Texas wine writers to task for their complacency in the article’s aftermath, by not providing their own response.

Furer’s correspondence follows, edited only to focus on the major technical points of the article, while omitting some of his comments on the author’s journalistic failings. The following comments by David Furer are presented as a VintageTexas Guest Blog.

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From: David Furer…

Ms. Shilcutt and Editors,

This note is in regards to your article of June 14, 2012, attached here and brought to my attention by a colleague employed by a Texas winery not mentioned in your article.

As a member of the press in good standing and member of the wine trade for 21 years, I found your article to be not only riddled with inaccuracies but somewhat discredited due to your lack of editorial and research standards, including:

In paragraph 5, your statistics for planted acres of grapevines in Texas Hill Country and Texas High Plains, likely sourced from Wikipedia, are reversed. There are more accurate, timely stats which may easily be sourced.

The use of California grapes in Texas wine may in your opinion be “dirty”, but it is no secret. It’s also no secret that California grapes, responsible for 90-95% of total US wine grape production, are used by wineries in many states other than Texas to supplement their grape production that generally lags behind the growth in wineries. Some Texas wineries obfuscate their use of these grapes [through use of legal omission: i.e. For Sale in Texas Only], most do not [through use of American Appellation], both of which are totally legal by United States TTB regulations. Continue reading »

Kiepersol Estates Vintner’s Dinner Featuring The Wineslinger Chronicles

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Sep 052012

Kiepersol Estates Vintner’s Dinner Featuring The Wineslinger Chronicles

Join us at Kiepersol Estates in the East Texas piney woods near Tyler, Texas, for a five-course gourmet dinner with author Russ Kane from VintageTexas – a.k.a. Doc Russ, Texas Wineslinger – featuring readings from his newly published book:

The Wineslinger Chronicles: Texas on the Vine

Each of the meal’s five courses will be expertly paired with a delightful Kiepersol Estate wine presented by Kiepersol winemaker Marnelle Durrette who will discuss the wines while Russ provides short enjoyable and reflective readings from The Wineslinger Chronicles highlighting his travels, meet-ups and tastings around the state. This special event will be hosted at Kiepersol Estates B&B at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012. For reservations, call 903.894.3300; email: bed_and_breakfast@kiepersol.com. Seating is limited. Click here for address and click here for prices that include a personalized and autographed copy of The Wineslinger Chronicles.

MENU
Duck Crostinis
Kiepersol Vit

Texas Shiner Bock Cheese Soup with Smoky Bacon
Kiepersol Viognier

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Chipotle Ranch and Grilled Peaches
KE Bushman’s Vitzin

Filet Mignon topped with Shrimp and Cabernet Barbeque Sauce
Kiepersol Cabernet Sauvignon

Home-Style Bread Pudding with Cognac Caramel Sauce
Kiepersol Port

Russ’s book, The Wineslinger Chronicles, has received critical worldwide acclaim for its literary, historical and engaging treatment of the Texas wine experience starting with its beginnings near El Paso in the 1660s, the period of emigrant farmer/winemakers the 1880’s, and its growth into a modern wine region in just the past 30 years. Readers have said that Russ’s stories made them feel like they were there in person to experience memorable events, talk with great people, and taste internationally award-winning wines that have made Texas the fifth-largest wine producing state in America.

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“Doc Russ is the kind of guy who can mix blues, barbecue, and Barbera in a truly Texan way, and as he writes I can smell the mesquite smoke, hear the wailing guitar and chew the High Plains ripe red fruit. Right on Russ!” —Oz Clarke, author of Pocket Wine Book and 250 Best Wines Wine Buying Guide

“With wine now made in all fifty states, the gift of the gods is on the way to becoming a national drink. In The Wineslinger Chronicles, Russ Kane tells the tale of Texas wine in an educational, friendly style. . . . So sit back and enjoy both Texas wines and Kane’s book.” —George M. Taber, author of Judgment of Paris

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Click here for chapter highlights from The Wineslinger Chronicles. I hope to meet you and share a bite, a taste and a true Texas story at Kiepersol Estates on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.

Russell D. Kane divides his time between Houston and Fredericksburg, Texas. A technical writer whose research spans three decades and has garnered two awards for writing excellence, he has covered Texas wines and cuisine since 1998 and now blogs on the subject of Texas wine at VintageTexas.com and writes a weekly column (Texas Wineslinger) in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal and lubbockonline.com.

Top Ten VintageTexas Blogs in August 2012

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Sep 012012

Top Ten VintageTexas Blogs in August 2012

Wine Quiz #2 – Know your Italian Wines

Top Ten Texas Wines of 2011 from VintageTexas: Installment #1 – Five Wines

Texas Black Spanish – The Grape Otherwise Known as Lenoir

VintageTexas ‘Cyclopedia of Wine: Vintage Charts

The Wine in Spain Comes Mainly with the Cuisine – 1

Texas Wine and Wildflowers – A Perfect Spring Pairing for Wine Trails

What’s with Wines from Ste. Genevieve: They’re Enjoyable, Inexpensive, Medal Winning and Good with Summertime Fare

2011 Top Ten Texas Wines from VintageTexas – The Honorable Mentions

News Flash: TDA Update Regarding Texas Wine Promotion – It’s Back!

Pedernales Cellars: Texas Wine Riding a Wave of Success

Write Off the Vine: Texas Wine News – September 1, 2012

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Sep 012012

from: http://kateolynch.com

Write Off the Vine: Texas Wine News – September 1, 2012

The Best Wine and Wine Makers in Texas

By Ben Carpenter, TexanPost

The long history of Texas wine begins in the 1600s with Spanish missionaries cultivating grapes in an area now known as El Paso. In the 1800s, European settlers started Texas vineyards from grapevine cuttings that they brought from their homelands. These are some of the best wineries and vineyards Texas has to offer.

Val Verde Winery – In 1883, Frank Qualia formed Val Verde Winery, which is one of the oldest, bonded wineries still operating in Texas. The Qualia family have owned and operated these Texas vineyards since 1883, boasting more than 125 years of operation and three generations of Texas winemakers. This winery has firmly established itself as part of Texas culture and is definitely worth a visit. Their wine selection varies season to season and can be purchased at the winery itself. Val Verde produces Chardonnay, Sweet Red Table Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Texas Rose, Muscat Canelli, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir and Lenoir.

More: http://www.texanpost.com/2012/08/27/the-best-wine-and-wine-makers-in-texas/

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GrapeFest 2012 – A Wine Experience

GrapeFest, the largest wine festival in the Southwest, is held in September and features an incredible array of wine tastings, food pairings and other entertainment including the traditional Vintner’s Auction and the Texas Wine Tribute Gala – a black-tie formal affair for gourmet food lovers and wine enthusiasts. GrapeFest attendees can also vote for their favorite Texas wines at the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic.

GrapeFest 2012 is located in Historic Grapevine, Texas, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, is a go-to destination when planning a trip to North Texas! Step back in time in Historic Downtown Grapevine with its collection of shops, restaurants, and art galleries. Enjoy fantastic hotels and resorts, great attractions for the entire family, fabulous shopping opportunities, outstanding dining at over 200 restaurants, winery tasting rooms, a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities, award-winning festivals and events and much more. Grapevine has something for everyone.

More: https://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/grapefest/

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Valley Mills Vineyards

By Jeff Cope, TXwineLover

Valley Mills Vineyards is located in Waco and is owned by Dr. Bill Peper and Amy Peper along with John and Kandi Bagnasco. The winery was opened November 2010.

I have visited Valley Mills Vineyards a couple times and the last time I visited I took the opportunity to take a wine class led by Bill Peper. The class was called Vine to Wine and it was a tasting of Valley Mills Vineyards Texas wines along with Dr. Peper explaining the process it took from vineyard to winemaking and finally to the finished product. There are two classes left and if you live near Waco, I would recommend you take one of the classes. The class dates left are September 11 and 16, 2012.

More: http://txwinelover.com/2012/08/valley-mills-vineyards/

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Birthday Celebration and Grape Stomp, William Chris Vineyard, Hye, Texas!

Birthday Girl and her Sister are having a blast at the William Chris Vineyard Grape Stomp in Hye Texas.
Their tour also included a visit to Grape Creek Winery, Four Point O Cellars and Pedernales Cellars.

Enjoying Handmade Chocolate Truffles during their Wine Tasting at Pedernales Cellars, complimentary of course!

More: http://discovertexaswine.com/2012/08/the-birthday-celebration/
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Texas Wine: Going Against the Grain; Making Chenin Blanc with Kim McPherson

by Jessica Dupuy, Eat My Words/TexasMonthly

What do you do when one of the best winemakers in the state invites you to make wine with him and his daughter? You say, yes! Which is exactly what I did when Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars suggested I join him and his daughter, Kassandra for his first ever attempt at bottling a dry Chenin Blanc.

And while it’s origin in the rather cool, Maritime/Continental climate of the Loire Valley would make it an odd fit for Texas—particularly in the dry, red clays of the High Plains—for some strange reason, it grows almost like a weed here.

More: http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=8658

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Landon Winery Wine Club Pick Up

By The Grapes Around Texas

This month is wine club pick up month. Well it was at the first of the month and we were a week behind getting up there. The club selected wines this time was red, Landon’s 2010 Meritage Reserve. We did not take a taste this time, but chose to enjoy the noon day spring like weather with a glass of Landon’s 2010 Pinot Noir for my wife and a nice glass of the 2010 Tempranillo Reserve. The 2010 Tempranillo Reserve won the Silver medal at the 2012 Lone Star International Wine Competition. The grapes were grown in the Texas High Plains from the Bingham Family Vineyards. This wine I found a truly great red wine for summer with cherry and plum flavors and a nice balanced tannic finish. I think I got more of the dark fruit than the plum. Then again my pallet is not of the professional level. I think this just might be my new favorite summer drinking red wine.

More: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2012/08/19/landon-winery-wine-club-pick-up-for-aug-2012/

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Texas Wine Trail

by G. Elaine Acker

Texas wines have come a long way over the last few years, and there are now more than 30 vineyards scattered across the Hill Country. If you like wine and you’re taking your camper out anywhere in the Texas Hill Country over the next few weeks, check out the wine tastings, grape stomps and live music at several of the vineyards. According to Texas Hill Country Wineries, there are 17 events next Saturday alone! Out of curiosity, I looked at the vineyard map, and then checked out the Texas State Parks map too. There are plenty of vineyards with great camping spots nearby!

More: http://americanrvlife.com/texas-wine-trail/

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Book: The Wineslinger Chronicles – Texas on the Vine

Like Texas wine, now read about the people, places and history of the emerging wine region called Texas. Get a copy of Russ Kane’s best-selling book, The Wineslinger Chronicles – Texas on the Vine, available online at: www.wineslinger.net.

What Texas Wines to Pair with the Deep Fried Food Finalists at the 2012 State Fair of Texas?

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Aug 292012

Big Tex says, "Make your TXwine Selections!"

What Texas Wines to Pair with the Deep Fried Food Finalists at the 2012 State Fair of Texas?

CultureMap Houston broke the “big story” today about the finalists in the 2012 State Fair of Texas 8^th Annual BigTex® Choice Award for best fried foods on the Fair’s midway. This year’s finalist are:

Chicken-Fried Cactus Bites
Deep Fried Divine Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Deep Fried Jambalaya
Deep Fried Mac-N-Cheese Slider
Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll
Fried Mexican Fire Crackers
Picnic On A Stick
Fried Pork Wing

Click here for the full story by Teresa Gubbins.

I know that immediately upon reading this list of Big-Tex deep fried competition finalists, the names of your favorite Texas wine pairings were on the tip of your tongues. Well, hopefully I can beat you to the punch with my list of wine pairings (but feel free to give me some feedback on your selections as well):

For purposes of wine pairing, I’ve divided up the finalists in the deep fried contest into the following categories and found a wine for each grouping:

Just Plain Fried: Deep Fried Mac-N-Cheese Slider

For the first pairing, just plain fried, high-fat foods like the Mac-N-Cheese Slider need a wine with a dose of plate cleansing acidity. If Texas made Champagne, I’d select that. But, alas, we don’t. Therefore, my selection is Duchman Family Winery 2010 Vermentino. Vermentino is clean and crisp while still firm and fruity with mouthwatering grapefruit and citrus zest.

Just Plain Spicy: Deep Fried Jambalaya and Fried Mexican Fire Crackers (Jalapenos & cheese)

When confronted with foods that you might say are “just damn hot”, look for a sweeter wine. My choice is CapRock Winery 2010 Orange Muscat. This wine has a fine mandarin orange flavor and sweetness to easily quench the hottest fare you can find. The balance between the sweetness and the acidity also give this wine a refreshing quality.

Sweet and Spicy: Chicken-Fried Cactus Bites and Fried Pork Wing (sweet/spicy sauce)

Sweet and spicy preparations require a delicate balance from an off-dry wine. My choice is Kiepersol Estate 2011 Texas Vit. Some have called this wine “Springtime in a bottle!” for its floral honeysuckle aroma followed by flavors of fresh pineapple for a tropical flair that allures the senses.

Sweet with Cinnamon: Deep Fried Divine Chocolate Tres Leches Cake (with strawberries) and Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll

This is probably the most difficult of the wine pairings, as cinnamon is hard to pair with wine. When confronted with this situation, I can go two routes. Where the degree of sweetness in the preparation is restrained, I like to go with an off-dry wine such as Becker Vineyards 2011 Gewürztraminer. I had this wine two weeks ago at the winery and it had classic aromas of lychee and pungent rose with a spicy note of baking spice; hence, the pairing with cinnamon. For more intensely sweet preparations like the Cinnamon roll, I go straight at it with Haak Vineyards 2010 Madeira Blanc Du Bois that offers intense fragrances and flavors of dried stone fruits and berries followed by hints of green tea and caramel.

A Little Bit of Everything: Picnic on a Stick (pickle, taters and BBQ/Ranch/mustard sauces)

Here were I have to pause for thought: deep fried pickle and tater tots with three different sauces. For this preparation, I need a wine that’s both crisp and offers a hint of sweetness, medium presence and good aromatics. When confronted with both sweet and savory elements like this (especially the sauces), my choice is Messina Hof Winery 2011 Muscat Canelli (Merrill’s Vineyard) that brings a nose full of citrus blossoms and early summer fruits.

Now that we have our Texas wines, we just have to wait for the selection of this year’s State Fair of Texas deep fried winner and start popping corks. What Texas wines would you pair with these new deep fried favorites?

September 11th TXwine Twitter Tuesday: TEXSOM and Muy Grande Tasting

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Aug 282012

Wine Tasting Session at TEXSOM 2012

September 11th TXwine Twitter Tuesday: TEXSOM and Muy Grande Tasting

Denise Clarke (@DeniseClarkeTX), Jeff Cope (@TXwineLover) and I (@VintageTexas) invite you to join the next TXwine Twitter Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, September 11^th.

This month we will share good tales and tastes of Texas wine from TEXSOM 2012 – The Texas Sommeliers Conference that was held mid-August at the Four Seasons Las Colinas Resort in Dallas. It was Red Bordeaux at nine in the morning followed by Texas wines all before the noon lunch break. Not your average Sunday morning fare.

Special guest at this month’s twitter tasting will be Guy Stout (@GuyStout), Master Sommelier and Director of Beverage Education for The Glazer’s Family of Companies. He co-chaired this year’s Texsom Texas wine panel. We will also have Austin’s Matt McGinnis (@MattMcGinnis), contributing writer for CultureMap Austin, who also attended TEXSOM and just passed the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory course.

Since we are tasting Texas wines from TEXSOM 2012, choose a wine or two from the following that were featured at the event: Duchman Vermentino, Trebbiano, and Dolcetto; CapRock Viognier and Tempranillo, McPherson Roussanne, and Pedernales Cellars Tempranillo and Viognier.

Spec’s Fine Wines and Spirits, Private Label Texas Tempranillo…It’s Muy Grande!

To celebrate the opening of a new Spec’s store in Lubbock, September’s TXwine Twitter Tuesday will also feature a special private labeled Texas wine made with Texas grapes and offered by Spec’s Fine Wines and Spirits stores around the state. It’s a Tempranillo blend called Muy Grande made by the hand of Texas’s favorite-son winemaker, Kim McPherson in Lubbock.

Pick up a few of the abovementioned Texas wines and join the September TXwine Twitter Tuesday and join in the tasting and Twitter fun. These wines should be available at Spec’s, Whole Foods, Total Wine, Kroger Signature Stores, United & Market Street stores near you or directly from the wineries.

Remember to: Taste, Twitter and Repeat! You can also post photos of your Twitter Tuesday tasting experiences. It’s exciting to taste with fellow Texas wine lovers from around the state.

To participate in the TXwine Twitter Tuesday on September 11th, remember to include the hashtag #TXwine in your tweet.

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NOTE: If you’re new to Twitter, here’s how you participate: just sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com. To make it easy to follow and participate in the discussion, go to the TweetChat room set up for TXwine Twitter Tuesdays: http://tweetchat.com/room/TXwine. No registration is required; you can login using your Twitter account info.

In the TweetChat room, participants are invited to follow tweets, add comments, and share thoughts as the participants taste and discuss the wines (the #TXwine hashtag will be added automatically). If using TweetDeck or another Twitter application, you will need to add #TXwine in your Tweets.

Texsom 2012: What a Tasting Opportunity… From Margaux to Mason County Texas

5 Responses »

Aug 142012

Texsom 2012: What a Tasting Opportunity… From Margaux to Mason County Texas

The Sunday morning session began with a rush of servers, Sommeliers of all types with varying degrees of certification, pouring to over a hundred attendees, giving each eight glasses of dark red-purple wine from the French Bordeaux region. Representing wines included the complete Bordeaux experience: simple Haut-Medoc to well-structured Margaux to a well-aged and graceful Chateau Cos D’Estournel. Wayne Bending MS and Brett Zimmerman MS painted the picture of this well regarded wine region as being defined by water (or its removal from the Bordeaux swamps by the Dutch in the 1600’s) and the best winegrowing properties defined by piles of stones brought down over the time of eons from the Massif Central to their resting place next to the Gironde River just inland from the Atlantic coast of France.

If you literally want the blow-by-blow description of three days at Texsom 2012, what most people recognize as the premier Sommelier-lead wine event in the nation, Jeff Cope’s already got it ready for you at this TXwineLover website (click here). He’s done a great and complete job, too.

My focus this past Sunday morning was the session led by double barreled Texan Sommeliers, Guy Stout MS and Christy Canterbury MW, called “Texas Terroir”. It was an hour and fifteen minutes of tasting and at time twang talking about Texas Terroir what Guy Stout said in plain Texan talk meant “Texas Dirt”. Simply put, it’s our dry sandy loam, heavily nuanced by limestone deposited over 100 million years ago by the vast inland sea about when our friends on the Kimmeridgian Chain in France had similar processes occurring. Who’da thunk it, but it’s so! There’s a commonality between wine production in France and right here in Texas – the strong influence of limestone.

Again, the onslaught of wine servers appeared from the wings bringing what I’m sure must have looked like an alphabet soup of wine names uninfluenced by the preconceptions of mostly California wine-educated attendees. There was not a Chardonnay or Merlot or Pinot Noir in the bunch, and for good reason: Texas’s climate ain’t like what you find in California (and you know what, come to think of it… It’s not much like Bordeaux’s and it sure as hell ain’t like Burgundy’s either). The line-up of Texas wines was heavily influenced by the gold medal results of the 2012 Dallas Morning News/Texsom International Wine Competition that showed what grapes actually like to be grown here in Texas. It included:

2010 Duchman Vermentino (Bingham Family Vineyards)

2010 McPherson Cellars Reserve Roussanne (Bingham Family Vineyards)

2010 CapRock Viognier (Reddy Vineyards)

2009 Sandstone Cellars VII (Mason County)

2009 Pedernales Cellars Kuhlken Vineyards Reserve Red Blend

2010 Fairhaven Vineyards Chambourcin

2010 Vineyard at Florence “Veritas” Cabernet Sauvignon (Williamson County)

2010 Haak Vineyards Madeira Blanc Du Bois

All were Texas born and bred (not made from imported grapes), and now were ready to be Texas savored.

Most noteworthy, after the fact that they were not the standard California set of wines, was the intensely crisp minerally characteristics of the first three white wines (Vermentino, Roussanne and Viognier) nuanced with citrus, peach and florals. In fact, the discussion among the attendees and the presenters at the Texas Terroir session reminded me of that from the previous day’s session where people cooed at length on the minerality of the white wines of Sancerre, Champagne and Chablis that are linked by the limestone of the Kimmeridgian Chain.

Following the white wines came the onslaught of Texas reds which brought a somewhat similar surprised response: minerally characteristics in balance with moderate alcohol and red/black fruit aromas and flavors. These were not the fruit bombs that we have been taught to expect from our west coast friends, but again more like the refined wines of Europe. And, the varietals were not the usual suspects but rather Touriga Nacional (a Portugese variety) and Mediterranean grapes (Tempranillo, Grenache, Mourvedre allowed to interplay and reinterpret the role of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in a blending capacity) and the lusciously fruity yet dry wine from the hybrid grape, Chambourcin. Only the Vineyard at Florence “Veritas” depended on Cabernet Sauvignon that show well-aged qualities, but seemed a little tired by comparison to the bright wines made from Texas’s lesser known but superior performing red varietals.

The flight ended with a cool yet fiery statement for the innovation of Texas viticulture and enology in the Haak Vineyards Madeira Blanc Du Bois. It was a conventionally produced Mardeira-styled wine, complete with the method of Estufagem production (or oven baking of wine in barrel) perfected by the winemakers on the Island of Madeira, but featuring Texas’s own Blanc Du Bois, white hybrid grape. The orange-copper and green hued wine, showed intense dried fruit, mineral and crisp acidity encased in honeyed richness. This style of wine, if pursued by other wineries in Texas has the potential to produce a cult following for Texas similar to the way Icewine has become a well-anticipated Canadian favorite.

After the Texas Terroir session, someone came up to me and asked what I found to be the biggest surprise about Texas wines. Well, after thinking for a moment, I responded simply that it was how long it took winemakers and winegrowers in Texas to stop trying to emulate Bordeaux and Burgundy and embrace the inevitable: Texas IS the Mediterranean of the USA. But, maybe now Texas is ready to hit it’s stride and make its wines with the varietals and in the style that shined so bright in this Texsom Texas Terroir session.

Texsom 2012 Kick Off: It’s Got It All

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Aug 112012

Texsom 2012 Kick Off: It’s Got It All

People started arriving for Texsom (The Texas Sommelier Conference) in Dallas yesterday evening. The air was hot, dry and still. But, as the morning session started the wines were cool, wet and refreshing and attendees at Texsom were getting their last charge of excitement as one of the nations premier wine events kicked off. Proof of the building excitement for this event are the Twitter stats that started at about 76,000 media impressions per day on Thursday, increased to over 280,000 yesterday and built up today to an outstanding 360 tweets generating 1,184,724 media impressions, reaching an audience of 226,255 followers!

Anybody that didn’t know what to expect must have been locked in a very dark closet for the past month without a smart phone. There has been an outpouring (pun!) of social wine media on the event through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a whole host of blog posts.

Today’s Day 1 festivities included a dedicated social media track with a Social Media (SM) Boot Camp by Tony Jones and an afternoon session by SM expert Rick Bakas. Parallel to the SM track was a morning tasting workshop designed to illustrate the Master Sommelier deductive tasting process (Old World – New World; Cool Climate – Warm Climate; New Oak – Neutral Oak; etc.). The Master Sommelier method of wine tasting has been referred to as a wine taster’s equivalent to an artillery gunner’s tried-and-true methodical way to hit the target (fire one long and one short, then bingo you got it!). This was followed by an ultimate wine (and geology) geek experience, The Kimmeridgian Chain by Wayne Belding MS. The latter brought together continental drift theory, French wine country terroir and tastings of wines from Sancerre, Champagne and Chablis in a way that remarkably enough either put you to sleep or will keep you awake with excitement tonight.

Linking the Texsom festivities were myriad tweets: some light and witty, some enraged by travel hiccups, and some enlightened with knowledge:

SM Lessons:

@purplejules: Don’t worry about the # of followers. Concentrate on quality interactions. #TexSom #SMBootCamp

Wine Geekdom:

@WineORL: Wines from Kimmeridgian soils tend to have sea shell character, intense minerality, and depth of palate #Wine #texsom #WayneBelding

@1337wine: fungus thought to impart terroir to wines. mycorrhizae. article here: http://t.co/WbUm4azj #texsom #fb… @VintageTexas: “@1337wine: fungus thought to impart terroir to wines. #texsom #fb”<terroir=vines+mushrooms!

Somellier Wisdom:

@benwood27: RT @ShitMySommSays: In Texas, according to the NRA, Sommeliers SHOULD carry guns #texsom

Miscellaneous:

@TravelNewsPR: TexSom Conference Kicks Off at Four Seasons Resort and Club in La Colinas – D Magazine http://t.co/U25QQWrN

@italianwineguy: RT @VintageTexas: “@canterburywine: Think heat is biggest prob Wrong! #TEXSOM much2learn abt #Texas #terroir frm @canterburywine & @guystout #TexSom tomorrow”

@Oinospell: I shud know not to take a bankrupt airline. AA f*d up at ORD. Delayed to #texsom. Wasn’t invited to SM day anyway

@VintageTexas: @DeniseClarkeTX and @JDewps studying for CWE exam while at #texsom From #eyeinthesky! http://t.co/CpWo0rnt

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